Schwartz's for sale: Iconic Montreal deli could be sold to group that includes Celine Dion and husband Rene Angelil

Change could be coming to Montreal's Schwartz’s deli, which is reportedly being sold to a consortium of partners, including Rene Angelil and his wife, singer Celine Dion, for a rumoured price tag of $10-million.

Writer Noah Richler had two choices when he was a teenager out catching a concert with friends at the old Montreal Forum on a cold winter’s night and exiting the show with both pockets and stomach near empty.

He could do the prudent thing and hop on a bus and go home. Or he could risk freezing to death and trudge through the snow to Schwartz’s for a smoked meat sandwich, a pile of gastronomic heaven wedged between two slices of rye bread, slathered in mustard and served with a Cherry Coke that could only be found at the iconic Montreal delicatessen on Saint Laurent Boulevard.

“Some of my favourite memories are of being in Schwartz’s after midnight on some crazy winter evening,” says Mr. Richler, a Montreal expat who, for many years now, has been marooned in the smoked meat wasteland that is Toronto.

“I laugh about it now, thinking of my father also sending me out in blizzards to pick up Schwartz’s knowing that I would do it. It was kind of like a mini-Scott journey across the poles, just to get that sandwich and bring it back for him. I loved it.”

His father, Mordecai, immortalized it in book form. Barney Panofsky, the protagonist of Barney’s Version, refers to Schwartz’s spicy, smoky and impossible-to-pin-down scent as a “maddening aphrodisiac.”

At times sublime, at others merely spectacular and sometimes disappointing, always served by a waiter who, no matter their name, or years of service, leaves the impression of being the same waiter who has been working behind the same counter since the place opened in 1927. There always seems to be a lineup, and cars with Ontario plates parked illegally nearby, former Montrealers loading up for the road, the nearby 24-hour bagel shops their next stop.

Schwartz’s — a.k.a Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen — is an institution. For its constancy; for its stuck in-a-time-warp-trench-coat-and-fedora-decor; for the quirky wait staff; the hustle bustle; the occasionally leaky ceilings and the smoked meat sandwiches — the taste of which remains tattooed on many a Montrealer’s palates no matter how far they stray from home.

Change is not the attraction here. Many devotees were made nervous when a separate take-out counter was opened one store over a few years back; even when the lineup snakes up to the corner, people willingly wait for a spot in the real restaurant, rather than sit on a stool in the new spot. Other attempts to expand have been abandoned amid controversy.

But change could be coming, soon. Schwartz’s is reportedly being sold to a consortium of partners, including Rene Angelil and his wife, singer Celine Dion, for a rumoured price tag of $10-million.

“I am very worried about them franchising,” says Eiran Harris, archivist emeritus at the Jewish Public Library in Montreal, a loyal customer at Schwartz’s for 50 years.

“The franchisees will look to cut corners. There are several partners involved, and that multiplies my concern because they will all have differences of opinion on how quickly to recover their investment.

“I assume that, for a while, they will retain the quality. Perhaps I’ll pay a visit to see if there is a change in staff or a change in quality in six months time.

“And that is something else that makes Schwartz’s unique: They seem to hire staff for their oddities. It is a colourful place.”

For Schwartz’s purists the

F-word is unthinkable, a potential culinary calamity on par with putting a Toronto-born anglophone coach at the helm of the Montreal Canadiens.

To survive this long already has been astounding. Schwartz’s founder, Reuben Schwartz, a Romanian immigrant with a masterful talent for smoking meats, also enjoyed drinking, gambling and womanizing, a challenging trio of vices that saw his deli teeter on the brink of bankruptcy during the Great Depression before he sold it to his friend, Maurice Zbriger.

Mr. Zbriger, a concert violinist, made Mr. Schwartz manager for life and invited him to live in his home. Hy Diamond, the current owner, was the deli’s former accountant. He is selling now due to poor health.

“If they open franchises they are going to lose me,” Noah Richler says.

“Some days Schwartz’s can be outstanding and other days disappointing, and those are the things you put up with in a place that is unique.

“And as I say this I remember one of the meat cutters handing over a brisket to my brother, and patting it on the side, as you would a pet, or a wife, and saying:

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.